BEEVILLE – Start making plans to participate in the eighth annual Tri-County Commercial Female Sale at 1 p.m. on April 13 at the Beeville Livestock Commission.

Because of the uncertainty of weather and consignments, there will not be a stand-alone special sale but a piggyback with the regular Friday sale. At 1 p.m., the sale will stop, and the consignments received will then sell.

Upon completion of Tri-County, the regular livestock sale will resume. Priority will be extended to consignments producers who own or lease property in the Tri-County area of Bee, Goliad and Refugio counties and those surrounding of Aransas, Calhoun, DeWitt, Live Oak, Karnes, San Patricio and Victoria.

The sale is sponsored by the Tri-County Commercial Female Sale Steering Committee.

“The committee feels it is too much of a risk to conduct business as usual due to the severity of conditions and the value we place on the producer’s time, effort and money,” said Rodney Butler, committeeman and manager of Beeville Livestock.

“We are optimistic toward another successful sale nonetheless,” he added.

There are other changes as well. Bulls will be accepted this year as long as they are tested for Trichomoniasis. Also, no health papers are required on females, just pregnancy tests if you are selling breds or three in ones.

“Those cattle could be pregnancy tested at the sale barn on Thursday if you prefer,” Butler said.

This is due to law changes in the Texas Animal Health Commission Brucellosis Program.

“We recommend chalking the results of the pregnancy test rather than placing ear tags as has been suggested in the past,” Butler said.

Consigners are strongly encouraged to consign their best quality animals, according to their production standards. All cattle will first be inspected by the Sifting Committee before being allowed to participate in the sale. Consigners will be charged a commitment fee of $10 per head, and the sale commission rate will be 5 percent.

Some goals of this effort include the following:

• To provide quality cow and calf producers an opportunity to present cattle to the region and to increase awareness and appreciation for cattle raised in and around the Tri-County area.

• To develop alternative markets for the quality cow and calf producers and attract prospective buyers from South and Central Texas.

• To provide females produced in and around the Tri-County area to Tri-County area ranchers.

To consign, call Rodney Butler, Beeville Livestock at 362-1727, or for more information, call your local county extension: in Bee County, Matt Bochat, 362-3280; in Goliad County, Brian Yanta, 361-645-8204; in Refugio County, Michael Donalson, 361-526-2825.